Chapter 1: Threat in the horizon
Archosaur was the grandest city in all over Perfect World. Within its great walls a bustling city life flourished. It had impressive architecture which would leave you with awe by the moment you reached its gates. Remarkable statues would guard the western and northern gates, a grand stone bridge crossed the river in south and in the east there was a harbor, where you could sail to Emerald Dragon Gulf and deeper into Endless Sea. At the center of Archosaur, four enormous statues were standing, they represented the images of gods in this world. And with them, there were four dragon statues as well, guarding a mysterious light that shined at the very core of the city, where it would shoot upwards right in the heavens. These were the few wonders of Archosaur that many would find absolutely stunning.
From the crowded west district with many vendors to the east district with the prosperous port, and from the quiet north district to the south where a military of Allied Forces operated, the city had a little bit of something for everyone. It wasn't surprising that this is where the six races would meet and thus, there were many different individuals making a living here. A lot of young warriors would come here and get recruited to the army in order to aid in the battle against the Wraiths; creatures that weren't quite living, but not dead, either, their sole objective being that they want to corrupt the world. So, a lot of new warriors are needed to fight this evil and Archosaur was a great place for them to start.
Although there had been a lot of schemes by Wraiths to launch an attack at the great city, life in Archosaur was actually quite peaceful. Whatever your expertise was, tailor, apothecary, merchant, craftsman, blacksmith, seamstress, there would always be someone needing your services. Archosaur offered many opportunities for a lot of people, so it was no wonder that the city had grown into this grand place it nowadays was.
On this particular day, the life in the city was busy as usual. The weather was nice, it was warm and sunny and there was a slight breeze blowing through the streets of Archosaur. It was afternoon and a bunch of people were strolling through the city, minding their own business. It really seemed like an ordinary day. But, bad things are often concealed from the eyes of majority, and on this day, one person was carrying worries that concerned the whole world. A young Tideborn maiden was walking along the main street in the east district of the city. She had short blond hair and blue eyes, and she was wearing a gorgeous light blue bodice, skirt, bracers and heels that had snowflakes imprinted on them, and perhaps this whole attire was a sign of vanity. Her blue skin was shimmering in the light of the sun. A couple of people did secretly glance at her as they passed by, but the maiden didn't pay attention to anyone. She had something urgent to do. With a rather quick pace she was heading to the residence of the Elder.
Elder, a wise old man, was a highly respected Human. He was well aware of the happenings around Archosaur, and even about some events around other corners of Perfect World. Often people would come to him to consult about various things. Due to his old age, he had a lot of life experience and wisdom, which often turned out to be a valuable thing.
The Tideborn maiden eventually reached the place where the Elder lived and saw that he was outside. He was dressed in a brownish robe with some yellow embroidery in it that resembled flowers and he was slightly leaning on his cane. His white hair was tied to a bun and his just as white long beard was tidy. At that moment, the old man was having a conversation with a young Human warrior, a blademaster, judging by his heavy armor. The Tideborn remained a few meters away from them, waiting, allowing them to finish their business in peace, although she felt a little impatient. Just a little moment later, the men had done their talking and the blademaster turned around and began to walk away. The Elder had noticed the Tideborn that was waiting for an opportunity to talk with him and the old man waved a little at the maiden's direction.
“Tsuyuem!” The Elder was excellent at remembering names and faces of many different individuals. “Good to see you! How are you doing?”
“I'm fine, thank you, sir”, Tsuyuem answered, making a little bow to show her respected to this man. “I have something urgent to tell you, if I can have a moment with you.”
The old man frowned as he saw concern in the Tideborn's blue eyes. He knew Tsuyuem as someone who liked to boast and show her strength, not usually worrying at all. There had to be something really worrisome things going on if she appeared troubled like this.
“Come in, come in”, the Elder invited her, walking inside the building so they could discuss the matter in private. The Tideborn followed behind and soon they disappeared from sight of the crowd.
They came to a large room that had a low table at the center and few pillows surrounding it. The old man signed the maiden to take a seat, while he began to prepare some tea after discarding his cane near the entrance. Tsuyuem sat on one of the pillows and followed with her gaze what the Elder was doing. She remained silent, out of politeness. The sweet scent of tea soon filled the air and the old man brought the pot and two cups to the table. He poured some of the tea to a cup he then gave to the Tideborn.
“Here you go”, he said.
“Thank you, sir”, Tsuyuem thanked.
The Elder poured some tea for himself as well, left the pot at the center of the table and sat on a pillow opposite the maiden. He held the cup between his hands, letting the steam from the hot liquid fill his nostrils. Tsuyuem took a little sip from her tea, but then stayed still and quiet. A bit impatiently, she waited for the old man to start the conversation.
After a short moment, the Elder shifted his gaze at the Tideborn. “Now, what did you want to talk about?”
The maiden took a deep breath, preparing herself. “I had a vision. A horrible vision.”
The old man recalled that psychics like Tsuyuem could see the future. This was an odd ability that some of the Tideborns could have. However, it was rather rare thing to occur and their visions often weren't clear which made them hard to understand. It also depended a lot in how powerful the psychic was – the stronger they were, the more likely they could see a glimpse of what's to come. There was a very low chance for weaker psychics to get these visions.
Tsuyuem definitely wasn't weak, but not the mightiest psychic, either. It was possible for her to see future. The Elder knew this and wanted to learn more.
“Tell me about it”, the old man requested.
The Tideborn took another sip from her tea before beginning her tale.
“I saw golden eyes”, she started to unfold her story. “They were filled with madness, burning with desire to destroy and enslave. It is an ancient evil that has been imprisoned for thousands of years. But where and what it is exactly, I don't know. But it will break free, if it hasn't already.”
“Does it have something to do with Wraiths?” the Elder asked, interrupting the Tideborn's story for a bit.
“I don't think so”, she replied, shaking her head.
The old man nodded and said: “Please, continue.”
So Tsuyuem did. “The power of seven vengeful ones will awaken a golden beast which will scorch the land with its blue flames. Masters of the five elements will serve the golden eyes and they will spread death and destruction in their name. Unfortunately, I don't know what these mean…”
“Hmm.” The Elder looked really serious for a moment and seemed like he had sunk deep into his thoughts. “It feels like we have a new powerful enemy to deal with. That is rather worrisome, indeed… Did you see anything else?”
The Tideborn nodded a little bit. “Yes, there's one more thing. I also saw the fall of the mighty Dawnglory. The city was in flames. Now, I'm not sure about this, but the fact that I specifically saw the destruction of Dawnglory is a little odd. Why this specific city? So, I think that this whole matter has something to do with the Nightshades.”
Dawnglory was the capital city of the Nightshade race. It mainly consists of airships and is quite a magnificent sight. The city was unique one, for there wasn't any other like that in Perfect World.
“The Nightshades, huh…” The Elder had gently put his tea cup on the table and was stroking his long white beard. It was like he was attempting to put the pieces of vague information together like a puzzle. Tsuyuem remained silent while the old man was focusing on his thinking, and took sips from her tea occasionally until her cup was empty. She placed it on the table and stared at the old man with her blue eyes.
The quiet moments passed by as the Elder was dwelling inside his mind. The Tideborn started to get a little annoyed, however, for she wasn't really patient person. But she knew that it would be extremely rude to disturb the old man, so she just had to stay put and settle for her role as a watcher. She really had to restrain herself from doing annoying movements like tapping her leg with her fingers. Staying still and silent took a lot effort from her.
But finally, the painful quiet moments were done as the Elder raised his head a little as it had been down a bit, and spoke for the first time in a while: “Do I remember correctly that a group of Tideborns just came to Archosaur trough the south gate?”
Tsuyuem tilted her head slightly. “I think that they indeed passed the gate a little while ago. They came to assist with the increased monster population around the outskirts of Archosaur.”
“Do you know if Rhynx was among them?” the Elder asked.
“Yes, I believe he was one of those that arrived to the city”, the Tideborn replied.
“Good.” The old man stroked his beard once again. “Could you please seek him and tell him that I want to have a word with him?”
“Of course, sir”, Tsuyuem answered. She stood up slowly and when she was back to her feet again, she gave another respectful bow to the Elder. “I will go and find Rhynx immediately. Thank you for your time.”
The Tideborn began to walk away to the door and the Elder did stand up as well. The old man followed the maiden to the entrance of his home, but stopped at the door. He observed how Tsuyuem joined the crowd of people that were walking along the main street and even though she didn't walk particularly fast, she soon disappeared from the old man's sight. But still, the Elder stood at the door, watching at the people who would pass by, deep in his thoughts.
Eventually the gaze of the old man would shift to the sunny sky. It was odd how peaceful and beautiful a world filled with evil could appear to be. The Elder had cared for the Perfect World for so many decades and years of carrying worries had granted him many wrinkles. And now, it seemed like that what he had just heard from Tsuyuem, the awareness of a new threat had given him few more of them. The worries would just never end during his life.
The Elder snapped out of his thoughts and decided to return inside his home.
There was a specific man that he wanted to consult about the visions of the Tideborn maiden. If the things that she had seen were somehow connected to the Nightshade race, it was best to ask one of them if they knew what the visions meant. The old man was pretty sure where this man was located at the moment, but it was rather far away. He needed someone swift to deliver a message to that person, and luckily, right in that moment in Archosaur, there was a man who could perform this task with excellence: Rhynx the assassin.
